Temporay Tension

“For three days he was blind...‘Go…ask for a man named Saul, for he is praying.’  Then Ananias went to the house… ‘Jesus has sent me so you may see again’” Acts 9:9-17.

It was business as usual for Saul, the persecutor of the Way.  He was almost giddy to be going to work that day in Damascus since he had permission to arrest all Christians.  Never in a million years could he have foreseen the upcoming events of that day.  God would knock him down, blind him and change the course of his future.  In one quick moment his position went from pride to humility, confident to insecure, and insurgent to servant.  His fellow travelers led him to a home in Damascus where without food, water or sight he remained for three dark days.  Four little words that no doubt changed his heart forever…‘for he is praying.’  Were his prayers pleas of healing for his eyes or cries of repentance for not recognizing the Savior?  Could the homeowner hear him weeping as he prayed and begged for restored sight?  Did he go three days with no sleep because of the anxieties in his heart?  We can be sure that his prayers were laced with desperation, but heaven was silent for three dark days.  Finally, the silence was broken with a knock at the door.  Once being proud and pompous, but now he was humbled with his face turned towards the hands of a stranger with a message from Jesus.

No doubt we have all experienced a life-changing situation in our lives.  We arise for the day and get that phone call from the doctor that changes our life.  We have that discussion with our employer that threatens our future.  We realize that our partner has chosen a life without us…any one of these would knock us to our feet.  We lose our appetite, our sleep is interrupted, and fear blinds us with perceived realities.  And so we pray…we listen…the silence from heaven is deafening.  We look for answers and we listen for messages from God.  We wonder how long we will be blind to the future.  We search for answers to our questions but God determines how long we will be left in the dark.  This dark…the tension between the known and the unknown…is called our walk of faith.  It is where what we say we believe meets up with what we really believe. 

Whatever you are facing today take heart because God will only be silent as long as it takes to test your faith and orchestrate your circumstances.  He already has worked it out in our lives no matter what we face.  The only thing yet to be worked out is how we will live between the known and the unknown.  Stay on your knees with your eyes to heaven and your faith steadied.  The path may be rocky but He will keep you from stumbling.  ‘For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life’ Psalm 56:13.